1301 CE to 1400 CE

Bulgarian archaeologist Nikolay Ovcharov has discovered two archbishop's seals during excavations of the city of Perperikon, a crucial urban center during the Middle Ages and the Byzantine and Bulgarian Empires. The two lead seals belonged to Constantine, Archbishop of Archidos.

A lack of "great heaps of dead rats in all the waterfront sites" has led The Black Death in London author Barney Sloane to conclude that the rodents were not the cause of plague in 14th century England. "The evidence just isn't there to support it," he said.

A collaborative project by Queen's University Belfast, King’s College London, and the Bodleian Libraries offers an innovative approach that explores the ‘linguistic geographies’ of the Gough Map, the earliest surviving geographically recognizable map of Great Britain.

An archaeological team from Cotswold Archaeology is leading a dig at Cowl Lane in Winchcombe, England, revealing "more than 40 rubbish pits containing medieval pottery, animal bone and metalworking evidence."

Researchers have added "climate change" to the list of possible reasons that the Vikings suddenly abandoned Greenland around 1400. Analysis of lake sediment cores has revealed that there was a sharp cooling trend from about 1100 onwards.

Dr Reuben Davies, from Glasgow University recently made a "startling" discovery in the Exchequer rolls for 1304-1305 of King Edward I: Scotland's Protector, William Wallace, "falsely sought to call himself King of Scotland".

This summer, the Morgan Library and Museum in New York City will sponsor an exhibit of over fifty illuminated medieval and Renaissance manuscripts and early printed books showcasing fashionable clothing in Northern Europe.

A recent excavation at Bannockburn, Scotland has uncovered several green-glazed pot sherds near the site of the camp of Scottish king Robert the Bruce, leading experts to speculate that the pottery may have belonged to the army.

In the 7th century, seventy lines of text were created to record the number of men in western Scotland for the purpose of military service and tax collection. The Senchus fer nAlban (History of the men of Scotland) includes resources for the population of Dál Riata, the Kingdom of the Gaels on the west coast of Scotland. (photos)

During the Peasants' Revolt in 1381, Simon Theobald, once Lord Chancellor of England and Archbishop of Canterbury, was beheaded outside the Tower of London. Now his mummified skull is being given the scientific treatment.

A team of researchers, based at the University of Mainz in Germany, have confirmed that fleas were responsible for spreading the plague that wiped out over half of the population of 14th century Europe.

BBC news magazine recently carried a 14th century 'Asbo' (English acronym for Anti-Social Behaviour Order) -- a complaint from one London neighbour against another about her 'creative' waste disposal, that piped her privy straight into a nearby gutter.

The National Archaeology Institute museum in Sofia, Bulgaria is hosting a display of over 50 eartifacts discovered in the country in 2010. Among the finds were a 14th century gold earring and an 8th century silver coin.

Archaeologists from the University College Dublin are unable to resume research on 14th century fishweirs near the Fergus Estuary in County Clare, Ireland which have been threatened by weather. The team blames budget cuts by the Irish Heritage Council. (photo)

Sunday worshippers at Bangor Cathedral in Wales were given a rare treat recently: they were permitted to view the Bangor Pontifical, "a 14th Century bishop's manuscript, containing blessings and text of plainchant." The manuscript had been absent from its home for preservation and digitalization. (photo)

Steve Muhlberger (Duke Finvarr de Taahe of the Kingdom of Ealdormere) of the Department of History at Nipissing University has posted several tales, in English, written by Jean Froissart in the 14th century. The stories, which include romance, poetry and history, were aimed at an aristocratic audience.

A 500-year-old, handwritten copy of the Koran, owned by the University of Manchester's John Rylands Library, has been scheduled to be digitized and available online. The manuscript is the size of a large-screen television, and it is too fragile to be displayed. (photos)

Season of the Witch, the new Nicolas Cage costume drama set in medieval Europe, tells the story of two crusaders and the witch girl they are hired to transport to her doom. Jeannette Catsoulis of the New York Times has a review.

HowToHistory.com, a website dedicated to creating and preserving video tutorials in the historic arts, recently found a documentary about The Forme of Cury. The interest was so great, the site obtained a public domain copy of the manuscript to give to their newsletter subscribers.

Medievalists.net blog offers a link to an article by David M. Guion dealing with wind bands from the 14th through 19th centuries. The article, published in the Journal of Band Research, Vol.42 (2007) is entitled: Wind bands in towns, courts, and churches from the Middle Ages to the Baroque.